La Comida Peruana

Food has definitely made up a significant portion of my experience in Peru. Over the course of my trip, I've had the chance to try a ton of delicious Peruvian dishes. And the chance to talk to everyone I meet about these dishes. The standard conversation with a cab driver/waiter/co-worker I meet goes something like this:

Them: Are you American?
Me: No, Canadian.
Them: How long are you in Peru?
Me: I'm here for just under three months doing a placement with a microfinance organization as part of a work-study university course.
*note: this may seem like a complicated sentence, but I've mastered it in Spanish
Them: Wow, you speak Spanish very well!
*note: see!
Me: Umm, ahh, not really, I don't have the vocabulary to say everything I want to say, ummm....
*note: now they realise I don't actually speak all-that-impressive Spanish due to stuttering and mind-bending verb conjugation
Them: What do you think of the food in Peru!? What dishes have you tried!?

And then I go into a random stream of dishes saying 'A mi, me gusta' and  'muy rico' a billion times. But its true, food makes up a significant portion of Peruvian culture (or any culture for that matter), and Peruvians are very proud of their cuisine, with good reason, which they claim is the best in Latin America. On here, I think I have mentioned my love of aji de gallina already, yet I haven't managed to find a place quite as good as the first time I tried it in Cusco, despite searching high and low. Lomo saltado, beef stir-fry with tomatoes, potatoes, onions and rice is always a safe bet. Some new favourites include pollo a la brasa - Peruvian roasted chicken served with french fries, and various things that Maria prepares for us at the house (this one dish that looks like green goop, but is absolutely delicious). Not to forget chifa either! A fusion between Peruvian and Chinese cuisine (although, it tasted mostly like Canadian-Chinese food to me...) Or the sangucherias (Peruvian sandwich shops), which I have become addicted to, because rarely have I tasted sandwiches or juices that delicious.

 Aji amarillo peppers

I feel like my love for Peruvian food stems mainly from the Peruvian aji amarillo pepper. I haven't figured out how yet, but when I return to Canada I'm going to try to smuggle aji with me, in various forms (paste, powder, pepper). I'm doubtful I'll be able to find it in Kingston or Calgary, which is a problem because I've become addicted. It is a fairly spicy pepper, hotter than a jalapeno, with a slightly fruity/sweet flavour as well. The spice doesn't have an immediate kick though, as you don't really feel its full force until the aftertaste. It is sometimes served as a pepper (I've had this in a chifa stir-fry), but usually it is served as a yellow sauce (either in aji de gallina, on the side of pollo a la brasa, or on top of your sandwich). Whatever it's in though, it makes the dish. Peruvian cuisine wouldn't be the same without it.

Huacachina Weekend

This weekend, there was a moment that was a perfect microcosm of my experience in Peru thus far. It completely encompassed my feelings about my placement, how I think I've grown through this trip, and how everything has gone thus far. Having that moment of clarity was an incredible experience. Did I forget to mention that this all occurred at the top of a giant sand dune? Perhaps I should back track and give some more context.

This weekend, I had the chance to travel to Huacachina with Laura, another volunteer who recently arrived at BaseCamp. Huacachina is an amazing place - it is a desert oasis in the middle of giant sand dunes just outside of Ica, about 5hrs south of Lima. It looks like something out of a cartoon, where a character who's been wandering aimlessly through the desert sees a mirage on the horizon, a pool of water surrounded by palm trees. Huacachina wasn't on my list of need-to-visit places in Peru, but I'm so happy I was lucky enough to stumble into an opportunity to go.

What types of things do you do while staying in a desert oasis? Well... dunebuggying through the desert (best described as a rollercoaster ride without leaving the ground) and sandboarding down the massive dunes. We also did a day trip to the coast to see the Islas Ballestas - an amazing place, completely different from Huacachina and less than an hour away. Incredible rock formations, birds everywhere, sea lions, and Humboldt Penguins! Such an amazing weekend of tours, with incredible things to see. But I digress, I was talking about my revelation on the sand dune.

It occurred while I was sandboarding. Or what could be more aptly described as sand-tobogganing, because there were no attempts to snowboard. Much more fun to slide down on your stomach than fall over repeatedly and eat a whole bunch of sand in my opinion. But while standing at the top of the last dune (I was told it is approx. 250meters high, see picture below), I had my moment of clarity. This may seem like an odd moment to describe as a microcosm of my trip. How can one compare sandboarding in the desert to a 3 month volunteer placement with a microfinance NGO in Peru? Well, I'll tell you how.

 "The Dune" - those little black specks at the top are people

First, it is important to understand that I am terrified of heights. Looking over the edge of this giant sand dune should have been a truly gut-wrenching experience for me, but yet, somehow, despite the huge drop that I was about to plummet down on my stomach, the expected feeling of horror never came. I never once thought "nope, no way, can't do this" but instead accepted a certain degree of fear, and just went for it. And by the time I had raced down to the bottom of the hill, I was thoroughly glad I had done it, because it was an amazing experience.

For me, this represents my placement as a whole. Jumping on a plane to Peru, traveling by myself, and staying here for three months is a scary thing to imagine, and I definitely grappled with nervousness at the start of my placement. But, ultimately, excitement overcame the nervous feeling, and like letting myself glide down the hill on the sand, I hopped on the plane and haven't really looked back. Of course there have been bumps along the way (did I forget to mention the bumps at the bottom of the sand dune before? They felt kind of like being on choppy waves), but that's to be expected. Getting to the bottom happens in a blink of an eye, and its hard to believe that it's already over. And looking back to the top of the dune, its hard to believe how far I've come. I've learned so much from this trip, and absolutely loved every second of it. It's been a phenomenal ride.

So yeah, go to Huacachina.

 

Mapping My Placement

After visiting two more agencies today, I wanted to make a visual representation of where I've been in Lima on my placement. I'm living in Miraflores (the bottom red star) and working regularly at the office in Jesus Maria (the top red star). My first agency visits were to Vitarte (the blue star that is lowest and fairly east of the office) and Huaycan (the blue star furthest east) on May 24th. On May 27th, I visited the agency in San Juan de Lurigancho (the blue star just north of the center of Lima). Today I visited the agencies in Los Olivos and Comas (north and to the west). I still have yet to visit the agency in Huarochiri, but that should be in the near future (the star that's to the north and east). The seventh agency is in Huancayo - a city well outside of Lima that would take more than a day trip, so I'm doubting that I'll be visiting. It's been really cool to see so much of Lima though. I was struggling to find words to describe why I appreciated getting the chance today, and William my boss put it perfectly in saying "Es la realidad" ("It's reality). Seeing all of these places has really helped me gain perspective on the scale of Lima (and its over 9 million inhabitants), the work of my organization, and the complexity and extent of poverty in Lima.

Election Day in Peru

One aspect of my experience that I haven't really taken the time to mention yet has been having the opportunity to see the Peruvian election unfold over the course of the first month of my placement. Seeing as the final results of the run-off election to determine who the newest leader of Peru will be are currently being tallied, now seemed like a good chance to share my glimpse into Peruvian politics.

When I arrived in Peru, it was a few weeks after the first round of polling, and the fact that the country was in the middle of an election could not have been more obvious. When I arrived in Juliaca, and along the entire ride to Puno on my first morning, I was immediately struck by the number of political advertisements. There, and the majority of places I've been since (although much less so in privileged districts of Lima), ads are spray painted directly on the side of houses, buildings and fences, like political graffiti. One tour guide told me people were paid for the space, but others told me it was voluntary, so I'm not sure who to believe.

In Peru (and the majority of Latin America), elections occur in two rounds. The top-two vote getters in the first round of polling are pit against each other in a run-off election to determine who will lead the country. With the first round complete, it had already been determined that the run-off election would be between Ollanta Humala and Keiko Fujimori. For those familiar with Peruvian politics, the intrigue of a match-up between these two candidates is immediately apparent, but for those of you who are less familiar, I'll give a brief run-down of the basics. If the name Fujimori sounds familiar, its because you've probably heard of Keiko's father, Alberto. He was the president of Peru from 1990-2000, and a controversial figure to say the least. He may have managed to crack down on the Shining Path movement, and bring some economic stability to Peru, but he ruled with an authoritarian iron fist, ran a government rampant with corruption and human rights abuses (see: death squads). In 2000, he fled the country, but he was (finally) extradited to face criminal charges in 2007, and convicted in 2009 (sentenced to 25 years for human rights abuses, and 7 1/2 for embezzlement). And now his daughter, running on a platform including giving her father a pardon, is a leading presidential candidate. Ollanta Humala has a less dramatic and violent family history (although his brother attempting to orchestrate a coup against the Toledo government in the early 2000s), yet still is well known in Peru. He was the runner-up in the 2006 election to Alan Garcia, at the time portraying himself as part of Latin America's New Left Turn, and emphasizing a close relationship with other leftist leaders in the region, drawing many comparisons to Venezuela's Hugo Chavez. In this election he has backed off of this portrayal in an attempt to appear more moderate, to some degree of success.

The election has been incredibly interesting to watch, and it has been a hotly contested race. Over the past few weeks, Keiko had been leading the polls, but in the last few days Ollanta had gained back a bit of the ground he had lost. Now, according to exit polls, Ollanta is projected to be the next president, leading with 51.7% of the vote to Keiko's 48.3%. I've loved being here to see the election unfold, and feel lucky that my time in Peru happened to fall on this once-every-5-years experience. Not living in Peru or spending enough time here to appreciate the full complexity of the debate has made me more of a spectator than commentator on the candidates, but I have to say that I'm glad Ollanta is leading. It will be interesting to possibly watch his presidency over the course of the next few years, and monitor what impact his commitment to social justice has on poverty in Peru.

edit* I forgot to mention that in Peru they have a law where no alcohol can be served in the country over the span of the election weekend (from noon Friday until noon Monday). Preventing people from drunk voting and drunk rioting? Perhaps Canada needs this law based on the fact that intoxication HAD to play a role in electing a Conservative majority government.

The Problem with High Repayment Rates

So, I wanted to take some time to critically reflect on my placement and microfinance on the blog. So far, I've talked a lot about the experiences I've had in Peru, but not really delved into why I'm actually here and what I'm actually doing. If you are reading the blog purely for fanciful travel updates and stories about my adventures, feel free to skip this post. Actually, feel free to find a new blog, because as you've probably seen, I'm more of a "go on long tangential rants" type of blogger than a fanciful-fun-travel blogger.

There are lots of things to do with microfinance that I want to critically reflect on over the course of my placement, and possibly this blog, but for now I want to focus on repayment rates. If you've had any exposure to the field of microfinance, you've probably noticed that these rates are a huge selling point for MFIs (microfinance institutions). Many will state, front and center in any of their advertisements, that they have repayment of higher than 99%. This seems great. Lend money to the poor, "help out", and get all of it back. Score.

Less sarcastically, this makes microfinance a financially sustainable and viable operation. MFIs serve as the middle-men between lenders and borrowers, charge interest rates to cover their operating costs but no more (unless they are a for-profit MFI, a completely different story), and thus facilitate the lending process. High repayment rates minimize 1) the amount of money that needs to be sunk into the organization to keep it afloat or 2) the interest rate charged to borrowers. Given that many MFIs, including my MFI in Peru, do not operate on donations, the former isn't really an option. Thus, high repayment rates are essential. Thus, it's understandable that high repayment and a low rate of non-performing loans (look at me, using the lingo I've been learning) are essential requirements for good ratings and continued funding.

But what does this end up meaning in terms of loans? How do organizations ensure that their repayment rate is high? What I've realized in my time with the organization thus far is that organizations achieve these high repayment rates by avoiding risk. Part of this process is evaluating potential borrowers, which is an important step in lending. However, evaluation is an inexact science, so typically, more is needed to ensure that repayment rates are high than simply a good evaluation. Organizations are forced to lend to those who they are sure will be able to repay, which understandably limits the pool of those who can possibly receive loans.

One way this inevitably ends up limiting who has access to credit is by cutting out those who could be referred to, for lack of better phrasing, as "the poorest of the poor". Those who have next to nothing are typically a much higher risk, because they have less of a foundation to work from and a variety of other reasons that they are generally less reliable (that I won't start to list here, because I fear you are already asleep). Thus, MFIs start making loans to microentrepreneurs who already have established businesses rather than those trying to get started, and the businesses become less and less "small", also pushing things into a higher loan bracket.

The problem I have with this model is that it completely eliminates the allure of microfinance - that it empowers the poor to change their lives - and makes in more and more like a formal bank with a different lending model. I'm not saying this doesn't help microentrepreneurs - there is obviously a demand for loans, and this model of microlending serves that niche. I'm just realising that the rhetoric of microfinance doesn't match up with how it actually works. The story of a woman who buys her first sewing machine, which then eventually leads to her employing others and owning multiple sewing machines in her own business is just that - a story. It happens, but it doesn't represent the complexity or predominant reality of microfinance.

Travel Advisory

Today, I received an email message from the Canadian Embassy regarding a travel advisory for Peru. Here is an excerpt:

The Canadian Embassy in Peru wishes to inform Canadians travelling in and around the Lake Titicaca and Puno area of travel difficulties due to miners' strikes and demonstrations since May 9, 2011.   As it is an indefinite strike, we cannot estimate when it will be lifted. Roads to enter/exit the cities of Puno and Juliaca, where the airport is located, are currently blocked.  The road to Desaguadero border with Bolivia (located in the Peruvian region of Puno) is also blocked by local protesters. Travellers are strongly advised to avoid this route.

Interesting, and not just because of the persistent misspelling of "travelling" and "travellers". Obviously, I already had my trip to Puno and Lake Titicaca, and do not need to be too concerned, although I was unaware until today that a strike started just a week after I left the area. I've been trying to keep up to date on Peruvian news, but the upcoming second-round of elections on June 5th must have overshadowed this somehow. Sad that I'd missed out on reading more earlier, I decided to dig deeper, and what I found was really intriguing.

In order to determine what's really going on here, you need to read between the lines of the Canadian Embassy's statement. What they fail to mention is that the "miners" they referring to are are actually citizens protesting the presence of the Canadian mining company Bear Creek, which locals fear will contaminate rivers and lakes in the process of silver extraction. Just a small oversight, failing to mention this in the email I received, I'm sure. Nor does it mention that the protests are entirely peaceful.

I've been surprised by the extent of Canadian impact on Peru since arriving in Lima. There are Scotiabanks all throughout Miraflores, which was a bit of a surprise, and obviously the presence of Canadian mining corporations is a prevalent factor in the background of this. Although I'm sure Puno wouldn't be the safest place to be right now as a Canadian citizen, part of me wishes I had the chance to pick up a sign and join the protests.

Random Reflections

I thought rather than doing a full blog post today, I would just list a random collection of reflections on various things I've seen and done in Lima.

- There's nothing quite like taking a combi ride through the streets of Lima. A combi is basically a bus, although some are more like vans. Yesterday, I took four separate combis, each one a unique experience in and of itself. From the porters yelling out destinations trying to attract customers to an already jammed packed bus, to trying to keep your balance when the bus suddenly veers off to the side of the road to pick someone up. Not to mention that its scary enough when the tiny inconspicuous taxi makes a quick lane change, nevermind when your bus jumps out in front of another bus forcing it to slam on its brakes. A common occurrence, I assure you. Plus, where else can you purchase a slice of apple-pie mid-transit?

- The food in Lima has been incredible so far, and I still have lots to try. My favourite dish is aji de gallina, a chicken dish served in a spicy yellow cream sauce with rice and potatoes. It is absolutely delicious. Some other highlights (besides the sandwich and juice I've raved about) include lomo saltado, a steak stirfry with rice, potatoes (ie. french fries), tomatoes and lots of onions, and trout that I had while on the island of Taquile on Lake Titicaca. Also, yuquitos (yucca fries stuffed with cheese served with aji dip). Yum. Next on the menu? I've yet to try Lima's famous ceviches, and perhaps I'll attempt the infamous cuy (guinea pig) if I'm feeling brave.

- As of this Friday, it will have been one month since I got on the plane to fly to Peru. Where. Has. Time. Gone?

- I've only had a few embarrassing moments of Spanish thus far on my trip. Lots of stuttered sentences and jumbled conjugations, but rarely anything too bad. The other day, however, I was at the grocery store and tried to tell the cashier that I didn't need a plastic bag because I would put the stuff in my backpack. But I blanked on the word for backpack. What came out instead was "shirt". Backpack = mochila. Shirt = camisa. Lesson learned.

Adventures in Miraflores

I finally took the time this weekend to really explore Miraflores, the region in Lima where BaseCamp is located. I had gone wandering around before, but until the last couple of days, I hadn't really taken the time to try and take it in. So, yesterday I set out with a plan to see some of the various sites in Miraflores.

I started off with a trip to the archeological site Huaca Pucllana, a pre-Incan pyramid located in the middle of the city, only 5 blocks from BaseCamp. I really enjoyed the brief tour through the ruins and the chance to see many of the artifacts discovered at the site. The pyramid is made out of mud-bricks, which are shaped and stacked so that the structure somewhat resembles a book-shelf. Apparently it was built this way to withstand seismic activity, which I found astounding given that the structure dates back to at least the 4th century.

 Me at Huaca Pucllana

I then proceeded to walk over to the ocean, and down the cliffs along the coastline. I stopped by "El Parque de Amor" (the park of love) which has a rather unique statue of two people making out. Interesting, to say the least. The surrounding walls/benches covered in mosaic tiles and personal messages were really nice though. I then continued down to the shopping center on the ocean, Larco Mar, and stopped for a Submarino Havanna at the Havanna Cafe. It was basically a hot chocolate, but they brought me a glass of extremely warm milk and a bar of chocolate, and I sat there confused for a minute. I then figured out I was supposed to drop the chocolate bar into the milk. Oh, the perils of ordering something without fully understanding what your asking for. :)

Last night after dinner, Romy (an amazing friend of those at BaseCamp who often takes volunteers on tours to see parts of Lima) took me to see El Parque de la Reserva, which is a park with a ton of amazing fountains near the center of Lima. It was a great night, and the fountains are spectacular. Getting the chance to learn more about Peruvian history and the history of the park from Romy was also great.

Today, I haven't been quite so adventurous, but after lots of research on my computer as to where I should go for lunch, I decided to try out the sandwich place called El Enano. I apologize to my foodie friends, because I forgot to bring my camera, but I will for sure be back, so no worries, I'll remember next time. I ordered a Chicharron sandwich (pork), which came with mayo, and aji (Peruvian hot pepper) sauce. It was absolutely delicious, and I don't want to detract from it's deliciousness by saying this, but the really impressive part of the meal was the juice. They have a ridiculous number of juice selections on their massive menu, making it a very difficult decision between the number of different combinations. I finally settled on papaya-pineapple juice which was incredible. I foresee many trips back in the next few months to try different juice and sandwich combos.

Overall, I feel like this time spent exploring has helped me see more and more of Lima, and hopefully given me a greater appreciation of the complexity of the city. Although Miraflores is evidently one of the nicest areas in Lima, and the one which is most geared to tourism, having these types of experiences has helped me learn a lot. I still feel as though the language barrier is holding me back from fully engaging with people in these everyday situations, but things are definitely improving bit by bit.

Lima! BaseCamp! Work!

Gah!! So much stuff to talk about!! I've been a horrible blogger, and neglected posting anything on here since I've started my placement. Or even since I've settled into BaseCamp in Lima. Blog fail. I will and fit massive amounts of information into this post, without making it so long that you need to take a nap halfway through.

First off, BaseCamp. For the duration of my placement, I am staying at a house in the Miraflores district of Lima which is run by a Canadian organization called BaseCamp for volunteers abroad. It has been amazing to find somewhere to settle in and call my home for three months. Despite the cold showers and occasional cockroach, I really am liking it here. Right now it's a very full house. There are 18 people here from U of T doing a placement in a local school for 3ish weeks before traveling to Cusco, as well as two other volunteers, Jen the live-in placement coordinator, and me!

Lima is an incredible city. I still don't feel like I've really had the chance to appreciate it fully, because I've been limited to where I live (Miraflores), work (Jesus Maria) and have visited (Barranco) thus far, but what I have seen has been really interesting. Its most defining characteristic thus far is the traffic. Traffic laws which I thought were essential to survival have proven to be optional. A two lane road is surprisingly wide enough for four cars across. So far I've taken two cab rides where the taxi has stalled in the middle of the road due to lack of gas. It has been an interesting and somewhat frightening experience at times, but earlier this week I found myself actually wishing my cab would drive more aggressively, which scares me. No one let me anywhere near a car when I get home, not that I drive anyways.

Work has been incredibly interesting thus far. Speaking only Spanish with everyone at the office has proven to be a challenge at times, but everyone has been incredibly understanding and has helped me work through it when my vocabulary comes up short. My first week was a lot of reading through documents about EDAPROSPO as a basis for me to work from, and then I started working on developing questionnaires for surveying various employees of the PROSPERIDAD program for their input in the strategic plan. Tomorrow I'm actually taking a break from strategic planning, and the president of EDAPROSPO, Marcial, is going to take me to see CREDIVAC - a work cooperative. It should be amazing. Next week I think I may start interviewing people for strategic planning, so things are starting to pick up and get busy. I've already learned a lot about microfinance, and can't imagine what 9 more weeks will do.

Ok, that is a really broad summary of what I've been up to. I'll try to post some more specific fun stories in the next few days, and avoid neglecting the blog again in the future!

"Tourism"

As I'm coming to the end of traveling before I head back to Lima tomorrow and start my placement on Monday, I've been reflecting on the idea of "tourism" and how it ties into notions of "development" or "underdevelopment" and representational inequality. Since the last post, I've traveled to Cusco by train, done a tour of the city, and of the Sacred Valley, and visited Machu Picchu yesterday (side note - yes, Machu Picchu is absolutely fantastic, and it was a dream come true to get to experience it). I've really enjoyed the perspective that being a tourist and getting to see many of the sites of Peru has allowed, but I've also had lots of awkward experiences and been fairly uncomfortable with how a "tourist" sees Peru.

My most uncomfortable experience thus far has been my train ride from Puno to Cusco. I booked it kind of without thinking - it was rather expensive, but it sounded like a great way to see the countryside and Andes. I toyed with the idea of taking the bus, but knowing that I would only have been in Peru for 2 days, I thought that the easiest option, one that was least likely to backfire and probably the safest, would be best. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

The train was ridiculously luxurious. Little did I know that before PeruRail operated the train service, it was actually the Orient Express. The colonial implications of that fact were still very evident on my train ride earlier this week. To describe how it felt, I'm going to go into more detail about a couple occurrences. Firstly, the train goes from Puno through Juliaca on its way to Cusco, as well as many other small towns, but Juliaca was the strangest experience. Vendors had set up along either side of the train tracks, so it felt like those of us on the train were plowing right through the middle of everything and disrupting the lives of those in Juliaca. It was basically an experience of looking out of our windows from our luxurious trains and comfortable seats to "see" how the people of Peru lived. However, the most uncomfortable experience for me was when we had a band from Puno play for us on the train. They were all dressed in bright colours, and playing "traditional" Peruvian music and singing in Aymara. Then, a Peruvian woman, rather scantily clad, came and danced for the passengers. I couldn't help but wonder what Edward Said would have thought of the spectacle. Afterwards, we went back to our seats, and were served tea and sandwiches with the crusts cut off. I actually laughed out loud.

As much as the experience of the train made me uncomfortable, and as much as I probably would never choose to take a the train again, I appreciate the perspective that this and all of the other activities I've participated in have given me. For me, it has been more of a reflection on how tourists from around the world engage with Peru than a reflection on Peru itself. Obviously, "tourism" is contextual, and many tourists have radically different experiences than mine on the train. That, however, does not mean that some are less problematic. Last night on my bus back from Machu Picchu, there was a guy from Austria talking to someone about how he had lived in Lima for 7 months now (I was horribly eavesdropping, but the insight is important, so I feel like I have to share). He was talking about how he "knew" the culture in Lima from having spent so much time there, and I couldn't help but feel like this perspective was also problematic.

Me on the train....

I've really appreciated the chance to get to see much of Peru, but I'm really looking forward to starting my placement now. It will be nice to settle in somewhere, make some longer-term relationships, and get to see something that the average visitor to Peru doesn't see.

Puno

Guess what? I'm in Peru!! After a long day of travel on Friday, I landed in Lima at 12:45ish local time (which is an hour behind EST due to daylight savings, which I probably should have realised but didn't), slept briefly, and took off the next morning at 7:15 for Juliaca. After landing in Juliaca, I got a car to my hotel in Puno. That afternoon I visited Sillustani on a tour. Sillustani is a peninsula on Lake Titicaca where traditional funeral towers (chullpas) have been built since the pre-Inca period. It was an incredible visit, but the little bit of hiking required was rough given the altitude sickness (soroche). Luckily, all that I've experienced is some shortness of breath, and a minor headache, which is much better than I anticipated. The picture above is one that I took of a chullpa at Sillustani. Afterwards, I visited the Cathedral and a museum, and went for dinner. My first cena in Peru was alpaca in quinoa sauce. It was interesting. Alpaca isn't my favourite meat, but it was worth experiencing.

Early this morning I left from the port of Puno to go on a tour of some of the many islands on Lake Titicaca. First, we visited the floating islands of Uros, which was incredible. The approximately 200 Uros islands are built from the roots of reeds and reeds themselves, and then anchored to the bottom of the lake. It was a very cool experience, and the people were very welcoming. Afterwards, we continued our tour and visited the island of Taquile where approximately 4000 people live. The people speak mainly Quechua, but many also speak Spanish, and are work mostly in agriculture and some fishing. In both cases, it was interesting to see how they lived, but I'm not sure what to make of the accentuated "authenticity" and "traditions". It felt like a front for tourism, and I would have liked to have had the chance to talk to some of the people and ask more questions.

I'm feeling slightly awkward as a tourist so far on my visit. I really am unsure of how to engage with many of the people I meet. Firstly, I've encountered some problems with the language. Yesterday, when I was feeling kind of groggy, it felt like I couldn't speak or understand English, nevermind Spanish. Today was better, but it is still an obstacle. Being a tourist is unsettling outside of the language barrier as well. Engaging with anyone so far has really made me aware of my positionality as a white tourist, and so far I have found the experience a bit paralyzing. People treat me as a tourist, as is to be expected, but I'm not really sure how to go about changing that. The fact of the matter is, right now I am a tourist, but I am really bad at acting like one. In not wanting to act purely like a tourist, but not being sure of how to avoid it, my response has been to lock up, and not engage with those around me as much as I would like. I hope to turn this around on the next leg of my trip to Cusco, and try to engage more with everything and everyone around me despite issues with the language and uncomfortableness with the position I am in.

I leave Puno by train at 8:00am tomorrow, and will be in Cusco after that. I don't think the hostel/hotel I'm staying in has internet, so there may be a bit of a delay before my next post. Until then, I miss everyone back home and really wish that you could be here with me!

The Pre-departure Post

Excited does not even begin to describe how I am feeling about leaving for Peru in 4hrs. It is the best word to describe how I feel, but completely inadequate in terms of actually reflecting the complex mix of emotions I'm experiencing. Another appropriate word would be disbelief. As ready as I think I am, and despite knowing I've wanted to leave on this trip for more than 7 months, the fact that it is actually happening, and actually happening RIGHT NOW, is mind-blowing. I really am not sure it will be real until the plane takes off.

For those of you who may not know, I will be spending roughly 3 months in Peru. I leave today, and am spending the next week traveling before I start my placement. Then, on Monday May 9th, I will be starting a volunteer internship with the mircofinance branch of an organization called Edaprospo in Lima. I will be done work on July 29th, and coming home on August 2nd.

I'm incredibly excited about this placement mainly because I know that in 3 months, I will be a different person than I am now. That is both a terrifying and inspiring thought. I know that a destabilizing experience like this placement will challenge me, and that challenge is exactly what I'm looking for. Being in Peru will be an incredible opportunity to learn and grow, and I hope to come out of this summer with a more mature perspective on travel, microfinance, and development.

Speaking of microfinance, this placement should be really engaging because working with Edaprospo will provide a unique and exciting perspective on microfinance. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what I think of microfinance, and I'm hoping that this placement will help me sort out my opinions (or at least make any internal debate more well-informed). Right now, I think that microfinance is promoted as an all-encompassing solution capable of overcoming structural disadvantages and "lifting" individuals out of poverty, when in reality I feel as though it is mostly a stop-gap measure which may or may not help individuals scrape by. Working within a microfinance organization will be an incredible chance to engage with these issues on a more concrete level in order to understand what motivates microfinance and what impact it has.

As I mentioned above, I will be traveling for the first week, which is going to be an incredible experience, but is also something I'm conflicted about. The thought that I will be seeing Machu Picchu in less than a week is so exciting that it takes my breath away, and I can't imagine what actually experiencing a lot of these places will feel like (updates to come on this in the weeks to follow). However, something that I've said before and will probably say again is that I'm really uncomfortable with the fact that the vast majority Edaprospo's clients and others in Peru will never have had the chance to visit Machu Picchu and experience their own country the same way I have. There's something extremely wrong with that, and despite the fact that my own logic is telling me that it would be a shame to visit Peru without going to see all of these sites, it is important to recognize that this is only possible from a position of privilege.

Reflecting on the entire experience, visiting Machu Picchu is really a microcosm of the whole trip in this sense. Engaging in a volunteer internship abroad is an extreme way of exercising privilege, and I have to be careful to do so responsibly. I've personally justified what I will be doing based on the fact that it will be a learning experience for me, but I need to work hard while I'm there to give as much of myself as possible to Edaprospo, as well as use whatever it is that I learn from this summer to move forward in a constructive way.

Overall, it is going to be an incredible trip, and I hope that in 3 months from now when I look back at this post, I will have had an incredibly challenging, exhilarating and amazing summer.